Fourth Estate scoops debut from Barker in 'significant' two-book deal

Fourth Estate has scooped the debut novel from Curtis Brown First Novel Prize runner-up Lucy Barker in a “significant” two-book deal. 

Katie Bowden, editorial director, secured UK and Commonwealth rights to The Other Side of Mrs Wood from Lucy Morris at Curtis Brown. US rights were sold to Millicent Bennett at Harper, which will publish alongside on 8th June 2023. 

The Other Side of Mrs Wood is described as “an irresistible historical comedy about two warring mediums in Victorian London, inspired by the real-life rivalry between famous spiritualists Agnes Guppy and Florence Cook in the 1870s”. 

It tells the story of Mrs Violet Wood, London’s premier medium, who has survived the competitive world of contacting the beyond where many others have failed, has avoided the slips that revealed others as frauds and is still hosting packed-out séances with the great and the good of Victorian society. Yet, some of her patrons have recently cancelled their appointments. There are rumours of American mediums who are materialising full spirits and audiences are no longer content with the knocking on tables and candle theatrics of years gone by. And now, at one of Mrs Wood’s routine gatherings, she hears something horrifying – faint, but unmistakable: a yawn. Mrs Wood needs to spice up her brand. She decides to take on Emmie, a young protégé, to join her show. But is Emmie the naïve ingenue she seems to be? Or does she pose more of a threat to Mrs Wood’s reign as London’s most celebrated medium than Mrs Wood could ever have imagined? 

Bowden said: “The Other Side of Mrs Wood is one of the warmest, wisest, funniest novels I have ever read. The pitch – two rival mediums battling it out in the cut-throat world of Victorian London’s most exclusive séance tables – is completely irresistible, and the novel itself is even better. Violet Wood is a perfect protagonist, gloriously relatable in her alarm at impending irrelevancy, and Emmie is the most brilliantly infuriating, clever, annoyingly likeable antagonist. Lucy Barker is a refreshingly original new voice in the historical fiction market and we are thrilled that she has chosen to make Fourth Estate her publishing home.” 

Barker added: “I am so excited to be joining Fourth Estate and HarperCollins. From our first meetings, it was clear that Katie and Millicent just ‘got’ Mrs Wood and I’m overwhelmed and honoured to have my debut in the hands of such talented teams. Discovering the real-life scandal that inspired The Other Side of Mrs Wood was an absolute gift. I have long been fascinated by Victorian mediums and here was the opportunity to go behind the curtain where the most extraordinary things can – and do – happen, in the most relatable of circumstances. After so long living with Mrs Wood and Emmie, I cannot wait for people to uncover what these talented women get up to when the candles go out.”